Faction Before Blood
by Shaydie
Summary: In his new Faction Caleb goes through Erudite initiation, but isn't as excepting of Jeanine's plans. Caleb is OOC throughout, I can't see how any brother could betray his sister so badly. This is my first ever Fanfic, so please review. Rated T for possible violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I sit with my father at the breakfast table pushing my scrambled egg around my plate, feeling far too nervous to eat. My mother and sister Beatrice have already eaten, as my mother needs to cut my sister's hair today. It is the second day of the sixth month, and we are only allowed to look in the mirror four times a year. My sister looks so unlike my father, but she has inherited my mother's dirty blonde hair. I have inherited my mother's eyes, which are an unusual dark green colour. My father has given me his dark brown hair and bent nose, whilst Beatrice's only feature of his are her icy blue eyes.

Both of our parents fit the perfect Abnegation stereotype, they don't seem to have a selfish bone in their bodies. They spend their days helping the factionless, something I know I won't be able to do for the rest of my life. Sometimes I envy my parents for being able to fit into Abnegation so easily. I have to mask myself in a selfless disguise, only so I fit in. That is all I have ever wanted, and I doubt I will ever fit in here in Abnegation.

I wonder what my sister will choose tomorrow on Choosing day, she has never completely fitted the mould that most of the Abnegation were born into. Quite often I see her watching the Dauntless come to school on the trains, and gazing longingly after them in the afternoons. If she chooses Dauntless tomorrow then I will know that she truly belongs there, for if she stays then she wouldn't have been brave enough to transfer, and staying would be selfless. If she leaves though, she will have been brave but selfish in her choosing. Choosing one over the other is more than enough to show where she truly belongs. If she does transfer though, it will be a surprise for many people across the city, and not just the Abnegation. Beatrice looks just like the perfect Abnegation member, her pale skin and dull hair not making her stand out in the sligtest. My wondering over her choice will be answered tomorrow though, and I will be happy for her no matter what choice she makes.

My father, seeming to sense my nervousness, places his cutlery down carefully and looks up at me, his eyebrows drawn together in sympathy. I wonder if he is remembering his own aptitude test, and how nervous he was. "There's no need to worry Caleb, the aptitude tests just help you to make the right descision on choosing day. Without them a lot more sixteen year olds wouldn't choose the right faction."

I know he is right, but I am worried about what the test will tell me to do, and if it gives me the result I think I am going to get. By Abnegation standards, I have always had an abnormal thirst for knowledge, but I have had to keep that hidden for sixteen years under grey clothes and a selfless mask. I have hidden books around my bedroom wherever I can, and if I can't sleep at night I will sit on the end of my bed and use the light form the street lamp outside to read from. I find that in the small hours is the only time safe for me to read, I do not want to arouse suspicions about my loyalty. The Abnegation do not crave knowledge, that is an Erudite trait.

My father, as far as I can tell, has always hated the Erudite, especially when they started publishing the articles against the Abnegation. Being on the council, my father has always had a crucial role in the govenment. The leader of our government, Marcus Eaton, had an article published about him after his son Tobias defaulted to Dauntless two years ago. The Erudite accused Marcus of abusing his son, and that was the reason for Tobias's transfer. These reports had always seemed illogical to me, to accuse someone of abuse just because his son transferred seems strange. Many sixteen year olds transfer every year, though an Abnegation transfer is rare. Despite this, dependents default all the time, and it is more likely that an Erudite would abuse their child rather than a selfless Abnegation. Although, the Erudite wouldn't release reports that do not have facts to back them up. Beatrice and I have only seen Tobias once, though she probably doesn't remember the sombre occasion. Evelyn Eaton, Tobias's mother, was pregnant, and the Thursday before she had died tragically in premature childbirth. Her infant had died as well at some point in the night. Tobias was at the funeral, but he was standing off to the side, worry and guilt plaguing his childlike facial features. I can remember how he had winced as if in pain whilst walking away from the grieving adults to stand by the window in the family room. A few minutes later I had walked up to him and placed my hand gently on his back, and as soon as I did so he flinched away from me and asked to be left alone. I thought that this wasn't very Abnegation of him, but considering the occasion I didn't think anything of it. Now I am thinking about it, throughout the entirety of his own mother's funeral, I hadn't seen him shed a single tear. Strange.

"Caleb?" my father says. I realised I must have zoned out. "Yes dad?" I say to him, and realised that if I choose to transfer tomorrow then this will be one of my last meals here. The thought fills me with sadness, and suprisingly excitement. I immediately feel guilty and stare down at my hands in my lap. "You know I'll always love you son, no matter what. It doesn't matter what you and your sister choose tomorrow, you will always be your mother's and I's children." I certainly wasn't expecting my father to say. That means that wherever he had in mind for us to transfer to, Erudite was not one of the Factions he had in mind.

The knowledge of my father's ingrained hatred for Erudite makes me feel guilty about ever wanting to leave.

* * *

I let Beatrice on the bus first, considering this is probably on of the last days I spend in Abnegation, so I might as well be as selfles as possible. We both sit down near the front of the bus, and I can tell by the way my sister is biting her lip she is worried about the aptitude tests. So am I, but I know deep inside of me that I belong with the Erudite, surrounded by books and an endless supply of facts for me to discover.

When we reach the next stop outside of the Candor head quaters, all of the seats fill up with arguing loudmouths dressed in black and white. Just as the bus is about to leave I see a red-faced Candor man running for the bus. He gets on and looks around for a seat, and when he realises that there isn't one he stares at Beatrice and I expectantly. Annoyance flashes through me, but considering it is unlikely that I will still be clad in grey by the end of tomorrow I ignore it. I briefly look at Beatrice, who is gazing obliviously out of the window. With a sigh, I leave my seat and the Candor man sits down, without even bothering to say thank you. I could never be a Candor.

Now I am standing I look around curiously at the other people. To anyone watching it will just look like I am being a typical Abnegation, always trying to lose themselves in their surroundings. I try to imagine myself among the smiling Amity, their eyes constantly alight with abnormal happiness. Certainly not. I see myself marrying Susan, and living the perfect Abnegation life, although I know I will be about as happy there as I would be in Dauntless. The Dauntless don't ride the buses, and joining them has never appealed to me in the slightest. My father calls them 'Helions,' and that is something I can totally agree on with him. The Candor loudmouths are given a truth serum at the end of initiation and are asked many personal questions, which anyone with a conscience wouldn't dream of answering. I wouldn't survive there. Lastly I look at the smartly dressed Erudite, and I imagine myself in their libraries and studying with my colleages. That is where I know I truly belong.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Authors note:**_

 _ **I am so sorry about the first version of chapter 1, this is my first fanfic so this is basically all trial and error. Thank you so much dauntlesstribute13 for telling me how to avoid**_ _ **the problem.**_

 _ **Disclaimer - Veronica Roth owns the Divergent Trilogy, not me. If you recognise any of this, then it belongs to Veronica Roth.**_

We get to the upper levels building on time, and when we are about to go inside Beatrice says, "Aptitude tests today." I nod, and think of what on earth they can test us on to determine our Faction. It could be an exam, with questions about different scenarios that different Factions respond to in different ways. Although, that seems too easy, and anyone could lie to get the Faction they wanted. It will probably be something that nobody could ever suspect.

I am partially relieved that my aptitude test won't be conducted by an Abnegation member, for I wouldn't be able to look at their face when the see that my selflessness is all an act. My sister has always been very selfless, even though she doesn't realise it. Her choice will probably be harder for her to make than for me because she doesn't have to pretend to be selfless, but she has always secretly wanted to be among the Dauntless. I think she has anyway. Hopefully she will chooses her Faction for herself tomorrow, and not for our parents. Tomorrow it is necessary for us to be selfish.

My sister and I walk through the steel-framed glass doors and into the busy Upper Levels building. Beatrice has Faction History this morning, a subject that everybody tends to dread. It will be a lot harder for her to distract herself in her class today than it will be for me, I enjoy school a lot more than her. Especially the harder classes, like the one I am going to, Advanced Math. Unless my assumptions have been incredibly wrong, there is no way Beatrice will transfer to Erudite tomorrow. She is very bright, but unlike me, she doesn't pursue the facts.

We walk together down the corridor, past some very preoccupied and uptight teenagers. "You aren't at all worried about what they'll tell you?" Beatrice says. I raise my eyebrows at her, having to crain my head down so I am looking into her eyes. Of course I'm worried about the tests, I haven't been able to prepare for them in any way, which is not something that agrees with me. "Are you?" I ask her. She looks thoughtfully for a moment, and then says "Not really." I smile at her, she is a terrible liar, but not as terrible as the Candor. Not knowing quite how to respond, I just say as we approach the fork in the corridor where we split, "Well...have a good day."

I stand there watching her blonde head disappear into a sea of taller teenagers, and wonder for the hundredth time that day what colours she will be wearing the next time I see her after Choosing day.

I walk along to Advanced Maths, trying my hardest not to get in anyones way as I push my way through the packed corridor. A Candor boy in my year -I think his name was Peter- knocks purposefully into my shoulder as he walks past me. Luckily I didn't drop any of my books when he did that, for they would be completely trampled by now. What a jerk, I hope to god he doesn't join Erudite.

Finally I reach room 11b, Maths. Like all the other doors in this school, it has a small glass window in its white plastic frame. When I turn in to the room only half of the class has arrived, so I choose to sit at the far back corner. Being at the top of an advanced Math class and not being an Erudite is highly unusual, so I always try and sit at the back so I am not noticed. There are about five others in the class, and all of them are from Erudite. I am the only one smart enough from any of the other Factions to be able to sit take this class, but I still get picked on for being too 'stiff'. Hopefully in a few years nobody will even remember what Faction I was born into.

The Erudite in the room all wear glasses, and unless bad eye-sight runs through nearly all of the Erudite families, I'd guess that the glass in the lenses doesn't have a prescription. This is one of the only things I do not understand about the Faction I am choosing tomorrow, I would have thought that they would have seen wearing glasses without a prescription impractical, illogical.

Whilst I wait for the teacher, I go over my answers to the complex equations we had to solve for homework, even though I know I am right. Soon I've checked over my answers three times, and can't will myself to go over them again. A small heart carved onto the front of the wooden desk catches my eye, even though it is hard to make out under the years worth of grafiti over the top of it. I can just make out the miniscule 'Andy+Nat' carved in it's centre. I am shocked for a moment when I realise that my parents names are Andrew and Natalie. I'll ask them about this one day, it has to be them that carved this heart.

I'm brought out of my thoughts when the rest of the Erudite students walk in, closely followed by the Erudite teacher. For the next one and a half hours I force myself not to think about the Aptitude tests, and lose myself in the formulae and complex equations.

* * *

After everyone has eaten lunch, we remain in the cafeteria sitting in our Factions, waiting for our names to be called up for our aptitude tests. The cafeteria in the upper levels building only has two people serving food food at any one time, so I usually spend about fifteen minutes in the library before going to lunch to avoid the queues and to get some extra studying in. Today however Beatrice was waiting for me outside of my class with Susan and Robert, our next door neighboors.

Susan Black and I have always been very close, closer than I am with any of my other friends, not that I have many though. If I stayed in Abnegation then it is likely that she would be the one I marry, and we would live a simple life together. I am very sure that she will stay in Abnegation, the life there suits her perfectly. Tomorrow night, it is possible that she will be sitting in the Abnegation initiate's dormitory, without her two best friends.

From four out of five Factions I can sense disguised tension wrapped around their tables. The only Faction that I can't say this for is Amity, although it is in their nature not to stress. The colourful clothed hippies are playing a stupid hand clapping game, that in my opinion is far too childish for sixteen year olds. Even ones from peace-and-love Amity. I try to imagine Beatrice there, and barely contain my snort at the thought of her sitting in the back of some truck with a banjo on her lap, her hair loose and her demeanor care free. If she transfered there, she might just be the first person to get thrown out of Amity, and probably on her first day.

Right now my sister is looking around the other Factions as well, and I see her gaze drift from the Amity over to the Dauntless. I think that in her heart she was always made for Dauntless, but seeing her now I just can not imagine her covered in peircings and tattoos and every thing else the Dauntless think makes you brave. In my mind she will always be my little sister who I need to take care of. One day, if I am right about her choice, then she will most likely be the one protecting me.

The Candor on the table next to us are arguing in a friendly manner, over what I don't know. Wherever they go they always have to make the most noise, and often they give me a painfull headache. The next most noisy Faction by far is Dauntless, and I look over at them and see them playing cards together. One of the girls has a tattoo of ivy down the side of her face, and I wonder what would happen if by some miracle a girl like that transfered to Abnegation. Tattoos are forbidden in Abnegation, and the few Dauntless transfers that come to my soon-to-be-old Faction either don't have tattoos, or are very good at hiding them.

On the table next to the Candors are the Erudite, and they all look very nervous, even more so than the other Factions. This suprises me slightly, why would the Erudite look the most nervous? I hear footsteps coming down the coridoor, and when the Erudite dependent look at each other and then in anticipation at the door, I realise. They are _terrified_ of being unprepared for a test.

The test supervisors come out of the set of steel double doors that lead to the testing rooms. I have never been in one of them before, nor has anyone who is under the age of sixteen. If I was born two weeks previously, then I would have already chosen my Faction, and would have a job I love if I had scored high enough in Initiation. I feel worried for Beatrice, she has got to be one of the youngest of the sixteen year olds here. If she had been born two weeks later, she would still be fifteen and wouldn't have to choose until next year. I hope she makes a decision she won't regret.

I am snapped from my thoughts when I hear a supervisor calling Robert and I up for testing. Shaking off my nervousness, I walk confidently up to them. One of the women who looked to be in her mid to late twenties placed a firm hand on my back and steers me through the double doors.

The woman's face is very angular, her cheekbones jut out of her pale face harshly, and her nose looks bent, _almost_ like she was punched, but it isn't crooked, which eliminates that theory. She also has a scar on her arm, stretching from her elbow and up around her bicep until it disappears under her sleeve. The scar is jagged, so it is unlikely that it was from a surgery. Anyone with a scar that big is or used to be a Dauntless; they are the only Faction that gets into fights. Or at a stretch a Candor, as they are so opinionated that if an argument goes too far, fists are occasionly used. However this lady is clad in blue. Erudite blue.

"You were from Dauntless." I state, it didn't mean to slip out, it just did. She tenses slightly, and then looks at me incredulously.

"How on earth did you know that?" the lady says to me. We have stopped outside what I can only assume is one of the testing rooms, the last door on the corridor. Out of the corner of my eye I see Robert going into his testing room, a Dauntless lady with green highlights in her hair ushering him in.

I avert my gaze back to the lady who I probably just creeped out by telling her what Faction she used to be. When I look at her face however she just seems suprised, and looks at me in the eye curiously. "Your scar. Only Dauntless are stupid enough to get into a fight." I say simply.

"My scar could have been from a surgery though." She questions me.

"Scars from surgeries aren't that jagged, your surgeon would have had to have been drunk to give you a scar like that."

The Erudite woman lets out a faint chuckle at my choice of words. Then for a heartbeat her eyes shut and her face looks troubled, a bad memory playing beneath her eyelids. "Right you are. Not even many Erudite have managed to guess what Faction I was in without even hearing me talk first." Now that suprised me, the Erudite are the most observent Faction, and it wasn't that hard for me to guess.

"Exactly how many people have been able to work that out?" my curiosity gets the better of me, and I see in my mind's eye my Father's disapointed face.

"Only one. Although that is inaccurate, because you just guessed, so two. Only two people have ever been able to guess my Faction of birth." Now I wasn't expecting that at all, only two?

"Who was the other person?" I internaly scold myself. Asking questions is selfish, and no matter how much I wish I was in Erudite right now, I am still Abnegation.

"Jeanine Matthews."

I was left with a look of utter shock on my face when the lady ubruptly turned and walked back down the corridor, just as the door to the Aptitude test room opens.

* * *

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think of chapter 2, I would love to get some feedback on this, especially since this is my first fanfic. I have decided that I am going to diverge off of the original storyline later in the story. I will update this fanfic whenever I can, thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading Faction Before Blood! Please tell me how you think I can improve. I am going to update this fanfic every Friday. I have decided that I am going to make Caleb OOC later on, I still can't see Tris's brother betraying her so badly. Please review!**

* * *

The person who is standing in the doorway is a woman who looks to be about three years older than me, suprisingly young to be carrying out an aptitude test. All of the other people I have seen have looked to be at least twenty five, and the Erudite supivisor that showed Robert where to go must have been at least seventy, his hair was grey and the wrinkles on his face where so ingrained they aged him at least forty years.

This woman has shoulder length blonde hair and dark brown eyes. I can tell by the way she is holding herself that she has probably been an Erudite all her life, none of the other Factions hold themselves as though they are above everyone else, chin up and chest pushed out. She could almost look pretty if she wasn't looking at me like I am phlegm stuck at the back of her throat.

"Sit down stiff." the Erudite orders me, pointing at a dentist-like chair in the centre of the room. She turns around and sits behind a computer screen, and places wires to each of her temples. These make her look slightly like a mad scientist, and I wonder if she realises this.

"Jeez, no need to be rude." I thought I said it under my breath, but by the way she is looking at me like I sprouted a second head makes me guess that's not the case. I see her reflections cast on either side of her in the mirrors on the walls, and when I turn around I see myself again. My reflection looks nothing like the other soon-to-be initiates, pale and shaking. The person in the mirror is standing up straight, looking confident. I am fairly certain that I know where I belong.

"I've never met a stiff that answers back before." now I really can't stand anyone calling me a stiff, they better not after the choosing ceremony. It's illogical to judge someone on the clothes they wear, especially when you've only known them for less than a minute. Although that does kind of make me a hypocrite, less than two minutes ago I guessed what Faction a lady used to belong to by the shape of her scar.

"Don't call me stiff, my name is Caleb, although you probably already knew that." I tell her firmly. She looks at me in amusement.

"Yes, I already did know that, but not just from this list. I believe that you are in my Brother's Advanced Maths class at school, right? His name is Will. He always says that it is amazing that you can be at the top of a class and be from Abnegation. I think he's a bit jealous. My name is Cara by the way."

The woman, Cara, is no longer looking at me like a disease, but one of curiosity that I know so well. She turns her attention to the computer screen in front of her and types something down on her keyboard. "What is the test?" I ask her. I am so glad my Father can't hear this conversation, the guilt of him knowing how many questions I ask would eat me alive. For some reason I don't think that my mother would mind as much.

Cara smiles at me, and says, "It's a simulation, you won't be aware that it isn't real, so that eliminates the possibility of changing your choices to something you know will get you a particular Faction. These are the choices that you would make in real life without anyone to judge you, and they will give you a result of the Faction you best fit in at. This should only last ten minutes tops."

I was right then earlier thinking that the tests will be someting nobody could ever suspect; I certainly wasn't expecting anything as advanced as this. Cara reaches under her desk and pulls out a little shot glass full of a liquid tinted a bluish colour. She holds it up for me to take, and I carefully reach out, being carefull not to spill a drop.

"After you've drunk this then you will be under the effects of the sim within thirty seconds. Good luck Caleb."

I shakily lift up the glass to my lips, the nerves everyone else has been feeling finally hitting me. What will I do tomorrow if I do not get Erudite as my result today? Will I still choose the Faction I wish I was born in, or completely change my mind? The freezing cold tasteless liquid slips down my throat, leaving my shivering. As the room starts to swirl and darken in front of my eyes, I take a deep, shuddering breath. My eyelids flicker shut and everything in the Aptitude test room disappears, leaving me in darkness.

* * *

When I open my eyes I am in the school cafeteria, except unlike five minutes ago it is empty of people. By the looks of the snow outside the season has also changed, it is July at the moment and it is snowing outside. For some reason I feel like I am in a dream. In front of me are two baskets, one of which has a hunk of cheese in it, the other one a long metal blade. "Choose." a voice rings out from behind me. I snap my head around to see the person who just spoke to me, but there is no one there. That can not be possible though, it sounded like the person was standing right over my shoulder.

"Choose!"

I quickly run over the baskets, I can figure out what is going on afterwards. My hand hovers over the space inbetween the baskets, just like some of the transfers do every year at the choosing ceremony. The Choosing Ceremony! Mine is tomorrow I can now remember, and I came to school, went to class, and after lunch it was time for the Aptitude tests. I remember walking with the ex-Dauntless lady to the testing room, meeting Cara and having a conversation with her, and then nothing after that.

What was it that Cara had said the Aptitude test was? Something about a sim? All of my most recent memories I have to strain to find, as if someone had built a wall around them and I have to break it down brick by brick to remember.

Now my mind registers Cara saying something about not knowing that the sim isn't real. If that is the case then how do I know that this is fake? Cara must have not given me enough of the drink, so I am not fully under its effects. I need to get out of this as soon as I can so Cara can re-administer the test.

My hand closes around the knifes handle, I can't see any logical reason to pick up the cheese, as it is unlikely that I am going to die of starvation in a simulation. I blink once, and the bowls are gone, and I am left standing alone in the empty dining hall.

Suddenly I hear a low growl, and next to the table where the Dauntless usually sit is a huge dog. From what I remember from a book I read years ago about demesticated animals, I'd say that this one is a German Shepherd, a dog that used to be used in the army before the war that destroyed the rest of the world. I can see why it was used now, the dog has muscles rippling under its fur, all taut and ready to pounce. The beast's eyes don't have any whites in them, they are all black and focused. Focused on me.

I point the knife at the dog and consider fighting it. By the looks of the dogs teeth though, it would be terribly painful to be bitten, so I decide that I am not going to use that option. What else do I know about dogs? I know that looking them in the eye makes them think I am challenging them, and I certainly don't want that. I want this dog to think that I am no threat to it, so I drop to my knees slowly, shuffle back a bit and then lay so I am face down on the floor.

Carefully I bring my hand that is still holding the knife out from under me, and I throw it to the side. I don't quite know how clever this animal is, but I know I can't take chances. That means that it needs to know that I am defenceless, I will not attack it.

I try to stay as still as possible as the dog circles me, and I pray it can't hear my heartbeat pulsing loudly around my body. Its warm breath tickles my cheek when it lowers its head down to my face, sniffing me. My mind starts coming up with unhelpful images of the dog opening its mouth and biting down on my face. _This isn't real,_ I tell myself. _This isn't real._

Then, to my utter suprise and relief, the dog lets out a little wimper. I look up from where my head is buried in my arms, and instead of the feirce war-dog, I see a small puppy, nuzzling into my shoulder. All of my tense muscles relax, and I allow myself to pat the creatures head for a minute. The only pets that the Abnegation are allowed are animals that have either been abandoned or are found wandering the Factionless sector. None of those animals are like this, cute and well groomed.

"Puppy!" I hear someone say nearby. The voice comes from a little girl, ten years old at most wearing a neat white dress. This suprises me, none of the Factions' colours are just plain white, the closest you would get would be Candor, but it is Faction custom to wear white _and_ black, not either or.

The little girl runs up to the dog arm outstretched, and when she is about three feet away the harmless puppy from a second ago has changed back to the ferocious animal it was before. I shuffle back at a speed I didn't know I was capable of, and the girl turns tail and runs. This girl can't be cut out for Erudite though, for anyone with an ounce of common sense can see that the dog is capable of running ten times as fast as a grown Dauntless man. If I don't stop the dog then this girl will die for sure, but if I try and stop the dog from getting to her I risk my own life.

In the next moment I make a descision that would disappoint my whole family if they knew about it. I bring my knees up to my chest and bury my head in my hands and put a finger in each ear. This doesn't stop the sound of the girls dying screams penetrating into my long term memory though.

When I open my eyes I am no longer in the Dining room, I am back in the testing chair where Cara gave me a too-small dosage of the drink. Except I notice that nobody else is in the room, and Cara's seat and computer screen have vanished. I head out of the door to try and find Cara, except instead of the coridoor I was expecting, I am now in a bus. When I look behind me there is no door to the room I was just in anymore, just the steel door of the same bus I was in this morning on the way to school.

A man with scars striped across his red hands sits next to where I stand in the aisle. From the patterns of the scars I'd guess that they were third degree burn marks. He is clenching his newspaper in both hands so hard it makes the veins pop out on the surface of his skin. I'm having a feeling that this man might be the next challenge in the sim, everyone else here seems normal.

"Do you know this guy?" the man says to me. Impossibly he seems to be gripping the paper even tighter. After a few seconds of my silence he releases the paper from one hand and points to the man on the front cover. The man has a plain face and a short beard. This guy seems very forgettable to me, and that makes me think that I probably do know him, from a very distant childhood memory. The title above the image reads "Brutal Murderer Finally Apprehended!", it is unusual for there to be a murder in the city, everyone would have known about it. This is fake, there is no murderer, just a simulation.

"Well? Do you?" The scarred man asks me again, undisguised anger in his threatening voice.

What can I do? I can tell the man that I think that I know the murderer, but deep in my gut I know that that would be a very, very bad idea. I can deny any recolection of knowing the man, but this man seems very angry, and I am afraid of what he might do to me if he thinks I am lying. I'll have to take the risk.

"No. I have never seen him before. Why do you ask?" I hope to god that this man believes me. Candor certainly won't be getting me as a new initiate to train tomorrow.

My heart rate increases rapidly when the scarred man stands up, and I finally see his face. From the looks of the huge pink scar on the right side of his face, I would say that if he was real he had been in a terrible house fire. He wears wide sunglasses shielding the emotion in his eyes from my view.

Scar man leans in close to my face, and I can smell the foul stench of cigarrete smoke on his breath. "Your lying," he says to me, dangerously quiet. "You are lying!" he shouts into my face, some of his spit landing on my chin.

I push my shoulders back and look the man in the eye, trying to make myself as intimidating as possible. "No I am not." I hear myself say. In order to make this believable I can't look scared, even if this is just a simulation.

"I can see it in your eyes."

"I'd be suprised if you could see much at all, it wouldn't suprise me if wherever you got those burns took most if not all of your eyesight."

"If you know this man," he says in a trembling, low voice, "You could save me. You could _save_ me!"

With a regretably low amount of guilt, I say "I'm sorry sir, but I have no idea what you are talking about."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am so sorry that this is late, I have been really busy lately and haven't had time to write. Pease review to tell me what you think and how I can improve.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to Roth, and that is the same for all past and future chapters**

* * *

I enter reality with a gasp, and spring up in the testing chair. When I turn my head to the side to check that Cara was there, I was suprised not to see her looking shocked at me for being so un-Abnegation. Instead, she just gives me a little smile as she pulled the electrodes off of her head. My fingers run through my hair in apprehension of what she might say.

"Well, Caleb, I'm afraid that you did not get Abnegation as your test result." I already knew this, considering I let the girl die instead of me, and refused to help the scarred man.

"Your test result was Erudite. Congratulations Caleb."

I feel a huge weight being lifted off of my shoulders that I didn't even know I was carrying. Now I know without a shadow of a doubt that tomorrow I will cut my palm and let my blood turn the pink water an even darker shade of crimson. But wait, I knew I was aware in that simulation, what if that changed my result? Who knows, I could have been subconsiously changing my choices to make them smart, and not kind, selfless, honest, or brave.

Cara stands up and offers me a hand, but instead of taking it I say "Cara, I don't think you gave me the right measurement of the transmitter drink, I knew what was happening in that sim."

I say it calmly, but as soon as the last part of the sentence leaves my lips Cara's fingers cover the lower part of my face, effectively shutting me up. After making a shushing gesture with her other hand she slowly removes her fingers and I stare at her in confusion. Her face is plastered with worry, and she turns her head towards the door while I sit there in silence. She stares paranoidly at the door for a few more moments, then turns her attention back to me.

"Caleb, are you absolutely, beyond a doubt sure that you knew that what you were seeing when under the sim was fake?" Why would she need to ask that? Accidental underdoses must happen all of the time in the aptitude tests.

"Yes, I am sure. Why do you ask?"

"Caleb, I gave you the right dosage of the transmitter. If you knew what was going on just now then that means that you have an extremely rare psychological condition that allows you to have simulation awareness. You are what is known as-" she looks at the door once again briefly before continuing, "-Divergent."

Cara says it with such meaning that I am sure that it is not just a psychological condition, it has to be much, much more than that. A moment before I ask her what is so monumental about the nine-lettered word, she starts talking again.

"You will be safe in the Factions Amity and Abnegation, but Dauntless, Candor and Erudite are not so safe. This means that your smartest move is one of the former two, you are least likely to be found out there. Over the years there has been a pattern of suicides from the latter three, especially Dauntless. All of the suicides we have investigated were very unusual, for a start none of the dead showed any signs of being depressed or unhappy when they were alive. As well as this, all of the suicides had abnormal test results. We are working on changing that fact."

It takes me a moment to let what Cara is saying sink in. If this is true, then someone has been murdering divergents. If I stay on the Erudite path I had planned for myself, some unknown killer could be hiding in the shadows, waiting for the right time to frame my suicide. However, if I stay in Abnegation or transfer to Amity, I would never be able to lead a full life. I would always be strangled by the two most peaceful Factions.

But why on earth would somebody want to kill people who are divergent? Other than for kicks, there are only a few different reasons why someone would want to murder someone. Either revenge, hatred, or because they feel threatened. I can rule out the first one immediately, I have been an Abnegation member all of my life and have done nothing to make anyone feel the need to avenge any crime. The second, I am not so sure. Erudite make it clear in the articles they publish that they hate the Abnegation, even though they have no reason to. This doesn't cover Dauntless, Candor and Erudite though.

I don't know enough about Divergence yet to elliminate the third reason though, which makes it the most likely. Although why would someone target us? Is this condition dangerous?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Cara says to me, breaking me away from my line of thinking.

"Why do people feel threatened by Divergents?" I ask.

"You worked that all out already now, did you? I'm impressed. They feel threatened because they can't be controlled. Divergents don't fit into any one Faction, your brains don't work that way. At least, that is _usually_ how divergence works. In your case however, you fit into Erudite, and only Erudite."

"So then how am I Divergent?" Cara literally just said I was Divergent, yet I don't have the one thing that makes you Divergent. This makes no sense.

"Recently we have discovered that some people with only one aptitude can also be divergent. The one thing that defines every divergent is their simulation awareness. Hence the lack of control the government has over you."

"Wait, the government?" Cara surely doesn't mean...

"I am afraid so. Not the Abnegation government -of course- the Erudite government."

I feel at a loss for words. The Faction I have an aptitude for might try to kill me if I transfer there. How have I never heard about Divergence before? I have practicaly read every book in the library!

"If despite what I have just told you you still want to choose Erudite tomorrow, I promise that we will do our best to protect you. We will teach you how to conceal your gift, but you shouldn't need to worry. You did an excellent job of hiding it in the sim, and only Dauntless does more than one simulation in their innitiation. Candor have truth serum, but no divergent has ever been found out under it. The Candor that are found out to be divergent have lied to someone about there Aptitude test, and the Candor being the Candor can tell when you are lying. Erudite initiates are tested by professionals at the end of initiation to see if they are divergent, all though they disguise this as the logic sim. We will help you to learn how to hide your divergence before that time though if you come to Erudite."

This makes me feel slightly better, but what does Cara mean by 'we'? Is there some secret organisation of Divergents?

"What do you mean by 'we'?"

"I can't tell you that now, the supivisors might get suspicious if you are in here much longer. If you join Erudite tomorrow then you will know within the week. Come on Caleb, if anyone asks why you were in here so long just tell them you felt nauseous and I gave you something to help with it. Usually I send Divergents home early, but because I don't need to delete your sim I have to send you back to the cafeteria. Protocal."

She stands up and walks to the door and beckons me to follow her. I see that she has written on both of her hands in perfect handwriting. That's unusual, she must be ambidextrous. Pushing myself up using the armrests, I follow her out of the door. My reflection is a lot paler than it was when I walked in, and my finger tips are trembling slightly.

"It was nice meeting you Caleb, I'll see you again soon." Cara says with a smile. My new friend seems certain that I will be an Erudite initiate by the end of the week. She steps to the side to let me pass through, and I head out of the door and walk back down the corridor to the cafeteria. Feeling too stund to process much, my legs guide me back towards were I was sitting earier next to Beatrice.

* * *

One hour later I am walking out of the bus at the stop for the Abnegation. The only people who are walking out with me are Susan and Robert, the other Abnegation dependents let other people from other factions on the bus before them and the bus filled up. I am worried about my sister not coming out of the Aptitude test room, so I wanted to get home as soon as possible to make sure she was okay.

I walk in front of the Black twins slightly faster than a normal Abnegation member would, and drown out there conversation. When we reach the road where we all live on, I am greatly relieved to see Beatrice on the front step of our house, her chin resting on her upturned palm. Her head snaps up when she hears Susan and Robert let out an un-Abnegation laugh, and she looks a little relieved to see me. I wonder how long she has been sitting there for.

"Beatrice!" I say running over. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She answers, shrugging. "When the test was over, I got sick. Must have been that liquid they gave us. I'm feeling better now though."

My little sister tries to smile convinsingly at me, but fails. Then suddenly I realise that Beatrice just told me the same cover story that Cara nearly had to make for me. This means one of two things; A, she really is sick and is pretending to be fine, or B, she is a stronger Divergent than I am.

"Did you two take the bus today?" Beatrice asks the twins.

"Our father had to work late, and told us we should spend some time thinking before the ceremony tomorrow." Susan tells my sister.

"Your welcome to come over later, if you'd like." I politely offer. Beatrice and Robert exchange a look out of the corner of my eye, and I wish my sister would realise that I _don't_ have a crush on Susan Black.

"Thank you." Susan replies. I watch her and her brother walk back down the street, until Beatrice grabs my arm and pulls me inside. Seeing my chance to ask her about her test before our parents get home, I think about how to phrase my question.

"Are you going to tell me the truth now?" I say, and I hope that if she is Divergent she won't tell me, because if she is that trusting then she could end up dead before the new year.

"The truth is..." my sister says, "I'm not supposed to discuss it. And your not supposed to ask." There's my stuborn-as-ever sister.

"All those rules you bend and you can't bend this one? Not even for something this important?" If she doesn't answer me now then I pretty much know for sure that she is Divergent.

"Will you? What happened in _your_ test Caleb?" Sneaky. Answering a question with a question.

"Just...Don't tell our parents what happened, okay?" My sister tells me, a hint of worry in her eyes. A few seconds later I nod, not wanting her to think I'd snitch. She shuffles into the kitchen, her Abnegation bun making her look taller than she actually is. I think about following her, but I did make breakfast this morning and it is her turn to cook. Usually when I have nothing to do I read up on a subject that I find interesting. The only subject I am interested in right now is Divergence, which must fall under psychology. I borrowed a book on that subject last week, but I read it from cover to cover two nights ago and it didn't breathe a word of the subject. Nor has any book I have ever borrowed out of any library.

With nothing better to do on my last abnegation night, I go into the Kitchen to help my little sister. She is boiling peas on the stove, and when she turns around to look at me she scowls slightly. I am too tired to be offended or to try and work out why she made a face so I pretend I don't see. She continues to boil the peas, stirring occasionly. Her expression of absolute boredom makes me want to laugh, but I feel strangely comforted knowing that I am not the only one who is not satisfied with this life.

I do hope that Beatrice will transfer tomorrow, I know that if she does stay she will regret it. I wonder if we are the only Abnegation members who crave a different lifestyle, one where we can complete slightly selfish tasks without being scolded, such as getting on a bus before a Candor for example. A life in Erudite has been my desire for as long as I can remember, and the thought of it only being a few short hours away is enough to make my face home to an exuberant grin.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you liked it, the next chapter is going to have a different storyline from the book.**

 **-Shay**


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